Bluehost vs Hostgator

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Here I am taking a closer look at two of the popular web hosts around; this is my Bluehost vs HostGator head-to-head web hosting comparison. In a rush? Then go straight to the comparison summary.

There are literally thousands of web hosts on the internet. To be honest, most of them suck and finding one that doesn’t suck takes a lot of time and research.

Bluehost and HostGator are two of the most popular web hosts in the industry. They are owned by the same parent company, Endurance International Group (EIG).

This comparison aims to determine which one is the best of the two.

TL;DR: Choosing between Bluehost vs HostGator is going to come down to just one thing. That is page speed. Bluehost will load your site faster. In all other areas, they are very similar, such as pricing, support, uptime and WordPress installations. Heck they are even owned by the same parent company – Endurance International (EIG).

HostGator

HostGator offers a free site migration for one domain and all files and databases.

You will be able to install WordPress with just a few clicks using Mojo Marketplace.

Just like Bluehost, HostGator offers CloudFlare CDN service.

Performance, Speed & Uptime

It is important to know how the web host you are about to go with stacks up against its competitors in terms of performance. Your website’s speed mostly depends on your Web Host’s server configuration.

Bluehost Uptime

Bluehost uses industry-standard servers and projects an uptime of 99.98%. But unlike HostGator, they don’t offer a service level agreement.

HostGator Uptime

HostGator uses industry standard servers just like Bluehost. They offer a Service Level Agreement that guarantees a 99.9% uptime. This means that if your website is not up at least 99.9% of the time, you will get free credit.

Bluehost Speed

Homepage:

Pricing Page:

HostGator Speed

Homepage:

Pricing Page:

Bluehost vs HostGator Pros and Cons

Would you call it a review if it doesn’t end with a list of pros and cons? If you are in a hurry or still can’t decide which web host to go with, this list of pros and cons will probably help you make a decision:

Bluehost Plan

Pros:

Offers a free SSL certificate.

Offers free automatic backups but recommend that customers create their own backups as well.

Free DDOS protection.

Cons:

Doesn’t offer a free site migration service like HostGator. You will have to pay $150 if you want them to migrate your website.

HostGator Plan

Pros:

A free site migration service that makes it super easy to switch to HostGator.

Free DDOS protection.

Offers fast support using live chat.

Cons:

Doesn’t offer a free SSL certificate.

Unlike Bluehost, you won’t get free automatic backups.

Comparison Table

Bluehost

HostGator

About:

Bluehost provides hosting services with unlimited bandwidth, hosting space, and email accounts. It has a reputation of robust performance, excellent customer support and competitive pricing.

HostGator belongs to the EIG group of hosting services providing inexpensive hosting plans and the free use of Weebly website builder which allows for easy site building.

Variety of Hosting Plans: Bluehost offers shared, VPS, dedicated and cloud hosting as well as options like managed WordPress hosting, giving you the flexibility to easily scale your site to your changing hosting needs. 24/7 Support: In addition to some of the best self-help resources of any host, Bluehost has a veritable army of fast-acting experts ready to assist you 24/7 via support ticket, hotline, or live chat. Good Refund Policy: Bluehost will give you a full refund if you cancel within 30 days, and pro-rated refunds if you cancel beyond that period.

Affordable Plans: HostGator has exactly what you need if you have a tight budget. Unlimited Disk Space and Bandwidth: HostGator doesn't put caps on your storage or monthly traffic, so your website will have room to grow. Windows Hosting Options: HostGator carries both Personal and Enterprise-class hosting plans that use the Windows OS and will support your ASP.NET website. Robust Uptime and Money-Back Guarantees: HostGator assures you of at least 99.9% uptime and a full 45 days to claim a refund if needed.

The Bad:

No Uptime Guarantee: Bluehost doesn't offer you compensation for any prolonged or unexpected downtime. Website Migration Fees: Unlike some of its competitors, Bluehost charges additional fees if you want to migrate pre-existing websites orcPanel accounts.

Customer Support Problems: It took forever for HostGator to respond over live chat, and even then, we got only mediocre solutions. Bad Traffic Spike Responses: HostGator is infamous for sending complaint emails or moving users to another server rack whenever users get a spike in traffic.

Summary:

Bluehost (review here) is also known for its proprietary resource protection solution set up for the protection of shared hosting users from other probable abusive users on the same server. Clients and users can install application using SimpleScripts 1 click installs. Also available are VPS and Dedicated Hosting.

HostGator (review) provides domain name registration, web hosting, web design and website builder tools at reasonable prices. Customer satisfaction is assured with round the clock support and a 45 day guarantee money-back guarantee. Other features which are impressive are 99.9% uptime and green power (eco conscious). This is a great web hosting service for bloggers, Joomla, WordPress and all niches that are related.